Guest column on India & drug patents: Can the US force policy change?

The pharma giant Pfizer wants the US government to act more aggressively to defend the interests of the research-based pharmaceutical sector in India. Will it succeed? The path from lobbying in Washington, D.C, to a change of policy in India is a long and uncertain one involving multiple steps. First, Pfizer needs to convince Congress …

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Guest column : Indian patent rulings and impact on emerging economies

Recent Indian patent rulings, as well as those to come, are changing the intellectual property rights (IPR) landscape for emerging economies. They are watched with keen interest by other developing nations to measure the response of innovative pharmaceutical firms and the global community. Whether or not they are precedent-setting remains to be seen.  Reflecting on the …

Guest column : Indian patent rulings and pharma strategies

The Indian government made several critical patent decisions over the past year.  Their impact on the Indian intellectual property (IP) landscape is still evolving, with important implications for IP rights, the global pharmaceutical industry, Indian consumers, and emerging economies. The stakes are high and reflecting on the ways in which these decisions will shape the …

Guest post : Why the compulsory licence to Natco is a bad idea

I'd like to introduce a guest post from Ranga Iyer, former MD of Wyeth Limited and a drug industry veteran. He is currently an independent advisor to Indian and foreign drug companies on strategy, policy, as also mergers and acquisitions.  In 2009, Ranga, then president of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India,  was ranked …

India’s compulsory licence to Natco : follow-up thoughts

In granting a compulsory licence to Natco on Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar the patents office has done its job well. It has put a provision in the law meant expressly to balance public good with incentives for innovation to its right use. See Shamnad Basheer's lucid analysis of the order on spicyip. But it is …

India’s compulsory licence to Natco : First cut

I quickly read through the Indian Patent Office's order granting a compulsory licence to Hyderabad's Natco to make and sell its generic of Bayer's patented liver and kidney cancer drug Nexavar in India.  While I'm no legal expert and I've just speed-read the order, some things just stand out so here goes. The order as …